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Tate Reeves warns Mississippians ‘they’ are out to get them as campaign gets rolling

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Incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves says he's not just facing a Democratic opponent, he's up against a national cabal of East- and West-coast liberal elites and media.

He repeatedly warned a campaign kickoff crowd Wednesday that “they” are out to get Mississippi.

“My friends, this is a different governor's campaign than we have ever seen before in our state because we are not up against a local-yokel Mississippi Democrat, we are up against a national liberal machine,” Reeves told a crowd in Richland on Wednesday, at a second campaign kickoff event. “They are extreme. They are radical and vicious. They believe welfare is . They believe that taxes are good and businesses are bad. They think boys can be girls, that babies have no , and that our state and our nation are racist.

“They think they can teach all of us Mississippians a lesson,” Reeves said. “They do not like who we are and they do not like what we believe. They look at all we have accomplished as conservatives and they hate it. They see our progress on education and the economy and they want to stop it. You see, a successful, thriving, growing Mississippi does not work for them, not if it is also a God-fearing, loving and truth-believing, hard-working conservative Mississippi … They want Mississippi to be the butt of their jokes … They want to kick Mississippi around, and you and me are simply in their way.”

Reeves on Wednesday held a campaign rally and lunch at Stribling Equipment in Richland, after an initial campaign kick-off event Tuesday in . About 250 people attended his Wednesday event, including many present and past elected officials, lawmakers and lobbyists and local and GOP .

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The event was near his hometown of Florence and in his home county, Rankin. In the 2019 general election against Democratic former Attorney General Jim Hood he won Rankin County after losing there in the Republican primary and primary runoff that year.

READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves kicks off campaign where it's mattered most: the Gulf Coast

Reeves didn't mention his Democratic challenger, longtime Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, by name, but worked to cast the race as a nationalized battle between and Democrats. This was a winning strategy for him in Mississippi — which has been solidly ruby red in national elections for decades — in his first gubernatorial election against Hood.

“The election that is before us is a question of whether or not we will keep up our momentum in Mississippi,” Reeves said. “The national Democrats have recruited a candidate. They are filling up his bank account. They have sent in experts in far-left politics to run his campaign. They even sent the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, here to check on his progress.”

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Reeves was referring to a four-state tour, including Alabama, Arkansas and Florida, by Newsom last month as part of his launch of a new political action committee meant to promote Democrats in GOP-led states. Presley did not meet with Newsom on his visit, but Reeves chided Mississippi media on Wednesday, telling the crowd, “Oh, you didn't see the news of Gavin Newsom here campaigning? Mississippi media must have left that out.”

When asked about whether Presley met with Newsom during his visit, a Presley campaign spokesman said: “Brandon was in Nettleton attending Palm Sunday services at his home church.”

Reeves in his speech said Mississippi has made great gains in economic and education, adding, “Today we are building a Mississippi where nobody has to .” He repeated the speech's theme — “this is Mississippi's time” — many times from the stump.

“I have a message for all those governors in New York and California and Illinois: Mississippi is coming to take your jobs, and we have no intention of giving them back,” Reeves said. He also asked the crowd, “Help us one more time … Let's defeat the national liberals. This is Mississippi's moment. This is Mississippi's time.”

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Ruby Ainsworth and Betty Phillips, both Simpson County Republican Executive Committee members, were among the crowd of supporters at Reeves' Richland event.

“I think he gave an excellent speech, one of the best I've ever heard him do,” said Ainsworth. “I think he's done an excellent job as governor.”

Phillips said: “He has moved Mississippi forward — in all the ways he just said he has.”

Former Mississippi U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, a Rankin Countian, agreed.

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“I'm here today as a highly unpaid political volunteer,” Harper said. “… He has earned the right to be elected another four years.”

When asked how he believes Reeves will do in Rankin County, Harper joked, “I think it will be hard for him to get more than 90% of the vote in Rankin County.”

READ MORE: Brandon Presley campaign reports $1.3 million raised since January

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Read Mississippi Today’s Pulitzer Prize finalist series ‘’Unfettered Power: Mississippi Sheriffs”

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Mississippi 's “Unfettered Power: Mississippi Sheriffs” investigation has been named a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Local .

The 2023 investigation from the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting at and The New York Times' Local Investigations Fellowship revealed how Mississippi sheriffs rule like kings, wielding vast power, exploiting and abusing the very people they are called to protect with no one stopping them.

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The seven-part 2023 , which has continued into 2024, included new details about the Rankin County “Goon Squad.”

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Click the links below to read the Pulitzer Prize-recognized series.

Sex Abuse, Beatings and an Untouchable Mississippi Sheriff

Where the Sheriff is King, These Women Say He Coerced Them Into Sex

New Evidence Raises Questions in Controversial Mississippi Law Enforcement Killing

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The Sheriff, His Girlfriend and His Illegal Subpoenas

How a ‘Goon Squad' of Deputies Got Away With Years of Brutality

Days After Rankin's ‘Goon Squad' Tortured Two Men, Supervisors Gave the Sheriff a Pay Boost

Who Investigates the Sheriff? In Mississippi, Often No One.

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READ MORE: The complete “Unfettered Power: Mississippi Sheriffs” series

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Mississippi Today named 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist for “Unfettered Power: Mississippi Sheriffs” investigation

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Mississippi 's “Unfettered Power: Mississippi Sheriffs” investigation has been named a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Local .

The 2023 investigation from the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting at Mississippi Today and The New York Times revealed how Mississippi sheriffs rule like kings, wielding vast power, exploiting and abusing the very people they are called to protect with no one stopping them.

The included new details about the Rankin County “Goon Squad.”

“I feel so blessed to see our work investigating sheriffs in Mississippi recognized by the Pulitzer Prize Board,” investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell said. “This honor doesn't belong to us. It belongs to the people who dared to stand up and share their stories — victims of violence, sexual assault and many other abuses.”

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This is Mississippi Today's second consecutive honor from the Pulitzer Prizes. The newsroom won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for its “The Backchannel” investigation into key players in the welfare scandal, making it the seventh Mississippi outlet to win in the history of the prizes.

“This series shocked the conscience of Mississippi, and the impact this group of incredible journalists had is enormous,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “Anyone who has read the stories can see how much time and energy they put into serving the , and they are so deserving of this recognition.”

READ MORE: The complete “Unfettered Power: Mississippi Sheriffs” series

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The seven-part “Unfettered Power” series documented in vivid detail the stunning abuse of by across Mississippi for more than two decades. Officers spied on and tortured suspects and used their power to jail and punish political enemies.

The reporting was based on difficult-to-get interviews and a deep examination of , including thousands of pages of Taser logs. Using other department records, the reporting team determined which device was assigned to each deputy, allowing reporters to substantiate allegations of torture by victims and witnesses.

“None of this would have happened without the hard work of our three tremendously talented investigative reporters, Ilyssa Daly, Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield,” Mitchell said. “They are a model for what dedication, determination and perseverance can accomplish. Because of them, we know that the future of investigative reporting is in great hands.”

The impact of the series was profound. The reporting prompted federal investigations and the drafting of several pieces of Mississippi legislation to limit the power of sheriffs.

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“In a short time Mississippi Today has built a prize-winning newsroom that has produced a string of accountability stories,” said Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times' Local Investigations Fellowship. “Our combined coverage of horrific abuses by sheriffs in the state is an example of the power and importance of local investigative reporting. It has yielded results, and the work continues.”

The Pulitzer Prize is the most prominent award earned by Mississippi Today, the state's flagship nonprofit newsroom that was founded in 2016. The newsroom and its journalists have won several national awards in recent years, including: two Goldsmith Prizes for Investigative Reporting; a Sidney Award for thorough coverage of the Jackson water crisis; a Collier Prize for State Government Accountability; and the John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Award.

Mississippi Today and its staff have also won dozens of regional and statewide prizes, including dozens of Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Awards; several Mississippi Press Association awards for excellence, including a Bill Minor Prizes for Investigative Reporting; and the 2023 Silver Em Award at of Mississippi.

“We as are so fortunate to have strong investigative journalism in our state,” said Mary Margaret White, Mississippi Today CEO and Executive Director. “This level of reporting takes a great deal of focus, determination and grit. The journalists being honored today are public servants in the truest sense, catalyzing accountability and change and standing up for, and with, those whose voices are otherwise ignored.”

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This is Mitchell's second time to be named a Pulitzer finalist. He was previously named a finalist in 2006 for his relentless reporting on the successful conviction of Edgar Ray Killen, who orchestrated the killing of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia in 1964.

The ongoing work on the sheriffs series is far from done, he said.

“We've just begun to shine a light into the darkness in Mississippi, and we can already see the roaches scattering,” Mitchell said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Could Spencer Rattler be Saints quarterback of the future? Archie Manning thinks so.

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mississippitoday.org – Rick Cleveland – 2024-05-06 11:38:53

Probably the biggest surprise in the recent NFL Draft came in the fifth round when the New Orleans Saints, who just last year signed veteran quarterback Derek Carr to a four-year, $150 million contract, chose South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Rick Cleveland

The Saints hadn't been expected to take a quarterback. Rattler had been expected to go much higher.

At least one expert, a former New Orleans Saints quarterback and a Mississippi legend, believes the drafting of Rattler was a wise choice by his hometown team.

“I like Spencer,” Archie Manning said recently. “I like him as a person and as a player. I can't wait to see what he does for the Saints.”

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Rattler, an Arizona native, played college ball first at Oklahoma and then for the past two seasons at South Carolina. Manning knows Rattler best from when he was a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy the summer between Oklahoma and South Carolina.

“I really enjoyed Spencer at our camp,” Manning said. “His attitude was great. He worked hard, got along great with all the other quarterbacks and the campers. At our meeting to start every day, he always came in early, sat front and center and just seemed to soak everything in. He had a maturity about him. He wanted to learn. He just had this little gleam in his eye. Obviously, he can really throw the football.”

Manning, who counts South Carolina coach Shane Beamer as a friend, watched Rattler for the past two seasons, even visiting Columbia for practices and attending quarterback meetings.

Archie Manning

“I just couldn't be any more impressed with how Spencer handled things, some disappointments,” Manning said. “I think he has a bright future in the NFL.”

There are several knocks on Rattler that might have caused him to fall in the draft. For one, he stands just a shade over six feet tall and he is not particularly fleet of . That will bother some teams a lot more than it should bother the Saints, who were led to their only Super Bowl championship by a six-foot quarterback with average speed named Drew Brees.

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Also, there was the transfer from Oklahoma to South Carolina after Rattler lost the starting quarterback job to Caleb Williams (the first pick of the 2024 draft). And there have been reports that an unflattering 2019 Netflix documentary, filmed during Rattler's senior year of high school when he was the nation's No. 1 quarterback recruit, caused some NFL teams to lower their evaluations. Said Manning, “I haven't seen that documentary but I've heard about it. All I know about his attitude and makeup is what I've seen first-hand.”

Clearly, Rattler has some upside. At Oklahoma and South Carolina combined, Rattler threw for over 10,800 yards, 77 touchdowns and 32 interceptions with a 68.5% completion rate. As a junior at South Carolina, he led the Gamecocks to eight victories including back-to-back wins over No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson. He threw for 438 yards and six touchdowns against the Vols, 360 yards and two TDs against Clemson. Then, in the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame, he threw for 360 yards and two scores.

Last season, when South Carolina replaced much of its offensive line, Rattler was sacked 30 times but still threw for 3,196 yards and 19 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Rattler was outstanding in the Senior Bowl, winning MVP honors.

A cynic might joke that the 30 sacks will be excellent preparation for the Saints, who hope to have solved some of their pass-blocking woes by taking Oregon offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga with their first round choice. Fuaga did not allow a sack his entire senior season.

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Rattler is expected to battle Nathan Peterman and Jake Haener for the back-up role behind Carr this preseason. Many, including Manning, believe he could as a long-range starter down the road.


It has been amazing to watch the devaluation of the running back position in the NFL over recent seasons. Not a single running back was selected in the first round in the 2024 draft. halfback Jonathan Brooks was the first back taken with the 14th pick of the second round, the 46th pick of the draft. Greenville native Trey Benson was the second running back taken (by the Arizona Cardinals) with the second pick of the third round. And get this: Benson's high school teammate Dillon Johnson, the Washington Huskies running star, wasn't taken in the draft at all.

Johnson, who runs with both power and speed, ran for 1,195 yards and 16 touchdowns, helping the Huskies to the national championship despite a broken bone his right foot, a sprained left ankle and a ruptured bursa sac in his left knee. Seems to me the steal of the 2024 draft might be someone who wasn't drafted at all. Also seems to me those injuries to Johnson are an indication of why running backs are not valued as highly as was once the case. The shelf of NFL running backs is not particularly long.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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